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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881941">Blackout</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmmyColour/pseuds/CharmmyColour'>CharmmyColour</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Milo Murphy's Law</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amnesia Alien Device, Anxiety, Arcades, Blackouts, Canon Compliant, Circus, Comfort, Cute, Devotion, Episode: 02e07b Managing Murphy's Law, Fast Food, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jealousy, M/M, Memory Alteration, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, Self-Esteem Issues, Temporary Amnesia, Theft, Two dorks being silly, Under the influence of alien technology</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:08:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmmyColour/pseuds/CharmmyColour</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cavendish and Dakota has been assigned to a very simple mission: clean up an alien device near a fast food joint. However, when they drive closer to inspect it, a energy field radiates from the machine, causing them a series of amnesic episodes characterized by erratic behavior and crazy outcomes.</p><p>Neither of them can't remember what happened in any of the blackouts. All they know is that when return home later that day, a mysterious teddy bear is resting inside their van.</p><p>Takes place during the episode Managing Murphy's Law.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Team Cavota</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Confusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>First MML fic! It won't be very long, but I hope you find it enjoyable. </p><p>Every chapter except the last one will narrate the events happening in each one of the blackouts.</p><p>Thanks a lot to LadyJuse to being my beta reader!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Zap.</em>
</p><p>The first blackout, even considering the strange circumstances that the two men would be finding themselves involved in later, was by all means the most confusing.</p><p>“What happened?” Cavendish blinked, looking around the old van.</p><p>They were just now driving away from Slushy Dawg’s drive-thru. Dakota was at the wheel, although the shock on his face revealed he also had no idea what they were doing there. Cavendish noticed a light pressure on his lap and realized he was holding a paper bag there full of fast food he definitely didn’t have any recollection of ordering.</p><p>He felt dizzy. Dizzy and slightly irritated about something, but he wasn’t able to remember what.</p><p>“I don’t know, but food!” Dakota decided.</p><p>Not caring he was the one driving, the younger man leaned towards his partner to steal a hot dog from the paper bag. The abrupt movement caused the van to make an odd curve, almost crashing against the wall of a side alley. Dakota had returned to the driver’s seat just in time to push the brackets and avoid an accident, but it didn’t stop them to feel a hard tuck in their chest when the car’s seat belt was the only thing that prevented them from flying onwards.</p><p>Cavendish had yelped at the sudden movement, instinctively reaching to his partner for safety, only to notice they were not in danger and he didn’t actually need protection at the moment. Dakota, for someone that had almost crashed himself on a wall, was unnervingly calm. Eating his recently acquired hot dog, the Italian didn’t even flinch at the danger, unconcerned about the fact that his lack of reaction could be hiting about something about himself.</p><p>Cavendish looked at him. There was something on the back of the British man’s mind that told him he should be upset about what had just happened; but he couldn’t work out why. Right now, on the blur that was happening inside his head, there was only one thought Cavendish was able to process, and that was that the accident had been hilarious.</p><p>“Pfffff, ha hah hah hah! We almost hit that wall!” He laughed. “We should do that again!”</p><p>“No way!” Dakota protested with his mouth still full. He finished the hot dog and went straight to find more food from the bag. “I wanna eat these. I’m hungry!”</p><p>“But these are mine!” Cavendish replied, holding the bag against his chest. It was too late to save the fries that Dakota had already stolen and was devouring avidly, but the older man was suddenly determined to get the rest of the food for himself. The bag was on his lap after all, so it was his! “I want to taste all the menu, all of it. We should steal all the menu!”</p><p>Dakota blinked, noticing for the first time that something was off. Cavendish wanted to steal? That was… well, Dakota couldn’t actually tell why it didn’t sound right, but he had the feeling it was just something that shouldn’t be happening. He looked at his partner, who was now chewing on a burger and giggling like he had just envisioned some really devious scheme. <em>Cute</em>, Dakota thought. Noticing his throat was getting sore with all the salt, he reached for the bag again to take a drink.</p><p>“I told you these are mine!” Cavendish held the bag tighter, trying to protect it from his hungry friend.</p><p>“Come on, I’m thirsty!” Dakota whined. Not expecting to actually get permission, he opted to directly wrestle Cavendish for the bag, getting it easily as his partner wasn’t expecting such a direct confrontation. The Italian grabbed one of the drinks with a gleefully sound. “Aha! Now I’m the king of soda!” he took a victorious sip while Cavendish just pouted.</p><p>“I should be the king of soda…” the older man muttered, arms crossed. “I worked for the Queen once… I think. But now I’m… I’m…” Cavendish took his hat off and stared at it. “Who I am?”</p><p>“Dunno. I think we are friends;” Dakota guessed, looking around for more food he could put his hands on. He had already finished everything. “No, I know we are friends. I can feel it, like, here!” he pointed at his chest, although more specifically, at his left lung. Dakota had never been good at human anatomy.</p><p>“Well, I’m certain I recognize you, you are…” Cavendish looked at his partner, squinting his eyes. “You are Dakota!”</p><p>“I do look like a Dakota!” the younger man chirped.</p><p>“Yes, yes, your name is Vinnie! You’re Italian! We are partners! We used to time travel together!” Cavendish continued, getting more excited with every discovery.</p><p>“Time travel? Awesome!” Dakota was getting excited too, but the British man wasn’t done talking yet.</p><p>“You play the clarinet, the harmonica and the theremin. The theremin! Why do you know how to play the theremin?” Cavendish was thrilled with the memories flowing back to him, cracking little giggles between every sentence. “You adore food, you’re always eating, and I know there’s a reason for it but you never told me. And you have seven siblings, you’re always wearing those ridiculous tracksuits, you love animals, you composed a melody about going to the zoo and, and… and…”</p><p>Cavendish stopped on his tracks, his eyes lost in front of him. He blinked, all his enthusiasm disappearing in the matter of seconds as he got progressively paler. Dakota, who had been grinning happily until that point, realized something was wrong and a concerned frown appeared on his face.</p><p>“What…?” the shorter man started, but Cavendish interrupted him almost with a whisper.</p><p>“...and you sacrificed yourself more than two hundred times to save my life.”</p><p>“But… I’m still here;” Dakota looked at himself, feeling confused and weird. He looked at his partner again and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his turquoise eyes. Gosh, he was so handsome. “‘Sides, you’re Cavendish. Whadd’ya gonna do?”</p><p>Silence fell between them.</p><p>The taller man’s face was troubled, still trying to process all that information. Part of him was sure he knew all that already, but his mind was clouded and he was having an incredibly hard time focusing on anything that wasn’t the desire to follow the first silly idea that came his way. He was somehow fortunate to be so accustomed to restrain himself that he could at least remain in the car. But what was that? Why would Dakota sacrifice himself for him? He was not worth it, Cavendish was sure of it. He was lucky they were even friends.</p><p>Dakota looked shocked, because for a few moments, he had really forgot all of that. He had a vague idea of who he was and what was he doing, but the mist on his mind didn’t let him focus on anything. Still, it hit him like a ton of bricks that he knew the man in front of him. More than that, Dakota realized all at once that that man was his whole life, his whole happiness, his whole world. He would die for him at any moment without a doubt, he would sacrifice anything to make Cavendish smile.</p><p>Apparently he had done that already.</p><p>Too much to take for just about seven minutes.</p><p>“So, I’m Cavendish,” the British man broke the silence, if only because it was getting really awkward. “That sounds made up.”</p><p>“Oooh, get a hold of your first name then!” Dakota snapped out of his thoughts, thankful to have an excuse to stop thinking about it. Focusing was way too hard right now anyway. “Balthazar! It’s such a mouthful word. Balthazar, Balthazar, Balthazar, Balthazar….”</p><p>“I don’t get it;” Cavendish commented. Having lost the few mental walls around his head, the influence of the alien device grew stronger. “We should do something, right now. Something magnificent, significant, we should… we should rob a bank!”</p><p>“A bank?” Dakota blinked. What was with his partner and stealing? Rules were in place to be followed. But he still liked the idea. “What would we do with the money?”</p><p>“Well, I don’t know. I would probably acquire a teddy bear. Hundreds of teddy bears! I will make a bed out of teddy bears and sleep with them forever!” The older man squealed and Dakota couldn’t help but think that was the cutest thing he had ever heard.</p><p>“Well, if I’m helping, I want my part. I’ll move to a tropical island and never have a worry in the world again. It will be just me and Dennis the coconut.”</p><p>“You can’t go on a vacation with Dennis, I need you,” Cavendish protested. “Dennis gives the best hugs!”</p><p>“Coconuts don’t give hugs, they don’t have arms.”</p><p>“Well, Dennis does!”</p><p>“I could give ya a better hug than Dennis,” Dakota stated.</p><p>“No you couldn’t.”</p><p>“I could and I will.”</p><p>“You won’t!”</p><p>“I will!”</p><p>“You won’t!”</p><p>“I will!”</p><p>“You won’t!”</p><p>“I want to hug you forever, you stupid handsome man in my car!” Dakota ended shouting, arms in the air.</p><p>Cavendish looked at him confused. “Do you think I’m handsome?”</p><p>The British man looked at his reflection on the van’s mirror and frowned. Was he that old? He didn’t feel like he was that old. But his hair was completely silver and he was dressed like an old person. Or a person from the past. Or an old person from the past. Whatever.</p><p>“Well, yeah, look at you,” Dakota replied like it was obvious. “No wonder there’s two hundred dudes in love with you!”</p><p>“That doesn’t seem right…” Cavendish pointed out. Somehow, it felt wrong that someone loved him, it felt wrong to deserve such a feeling, almost… guilty? “I don’t even have pretty fluffy hair like yours.”</p><p>“You think my hair is fluffy?” Dakota beamed, touching his hair while a wave of confidence filled him.</p><p>“Certainly. It looks so… soft.”</p><p>“Do you think Jeremy likes my hair?” Dakota went on, slightly remembering having flirted with a Jeremy.</p><p>Cavendish's face fell for a moment. He didn’t understand why that made him feel so bad, so betrayed. Who was Jeremy, anyway, and why did Cavendish feel such a poignant, unkind feeling against him right now?</p><p>“Dakota, I…”</p><p>And then, as quick as it had started, the effect from the alien device stopped affecting them altogether, erasing the last ten minutes of their life completely from their memory.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Impulse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Zap.</em>
</p><p>The second blackout was the most impulsive.</p><p>“What happened?” Cavendish blinked, looking around the old van.</p><p>They were just now driving away from Slushy Dawg’s drive-thru. Dakota was at the wheel, although the shock on his face revealed he also had no idea what they were doing there. Cavendish noticed there were several empty wraps of fast food in the front of the car and frowned. He didn’t remember eating anything; in fact, he was quite hungry.</p><p>“I… I have no idea,” Dakota replied. “Wait!”</p><p>The younger man pushed the brackets like his life depended on it, which again (again?) made them feel a hard tuck in their chest when the car’s seat belt was the only thing that prevented them from flying onwards.</p><p>Cavendish yelped, and his instinct sent him directly to embrace Dakota, this time not realizing his action before actually completing it. The British man froze abruptly, his arms around Dakota’s shoulders, as he was hit with a wave of emotions he couldn’t even begin to describe. He felt suddenly very aware of how close they were.</p><p>“Ya good there, pal?” The younger man grinned, feelings something warm on his chest. Uh, Cavendish, right? Cavendish was the only thing he remembered correctly, and really, the only thing he cared about at that moment.</p><p>Cavendish felt his cheeks turn unbearably hot, jerking himself backwards with an awkward cough. What a strange feeling, whatever had invaded him upon seeing his friend’s smile. It was powerful and pleasant, but mostly terrifying, like it was meant to be kept restrained and hidden. It was too much, just too much.</p><p>“What did we stop?” The older man spoke, hoping his words would bring some sense of clarity to him.</p><p>“Ah!” Dakota reacted, suddenly remembering why he had so abruptly stopped the car. ”I wanna play video games!” he pointed at the arcade across the street.</p><p>“But I’m hungry!” Cavendish protested looking over his shoulder to the fast food restaurant. “I want to order a menu; no, all the menu! Fifty pieces of each! And then I’ll hold a party and that way I will be popular!”</p><p>“Why do you care about being popular? Who cares about who likes you or who…”</p><p>“I care!” The older man was almost offended. “I care a lot. If others don’t like me, then… then… then I’m not even worth the space I waste;” He looked at the floor, defeated.</p><p>“No, no, don’t say that!” Dakota automatically tried to cheer him, because a sharp pain had appeared in his chest the very moment his friend seemed to deflate. “I like you! Look, we will do that party and it will be rad, okay? Don’t be sad, if you look sad I also get sad.”</p><p>“Huzzah! I’m gonna get tons of food!” Cavendish squealed, giving Dakota a very brief hug before jumping out of the car.</p><p>Dakota saw his partner storm to the drive-thru windows and start demanding a wild quantity of food, blocking the rest of the cars from advancing. Dakota left the van without bothering to lock the doors and stood behind Cavendish only for a minute before getting bored and deciding it wasn’t going to hurt anyone if he went to check the arcade instead. The Brit noticed him moving in the corner of his eye and turned his head to him.</p><p>“...and seventy-nine hot dogs without mustard and… where are you going?”</p><p>“Told ya, wanna play games;” Dakota informed.</p><p>Cavendish seemed to think about it for a couple of seconds. “Alright, I’ll allow it!”</p><p>“Awesome!” The brunette shouted. He started running to the establishment excitedly, his arms into the air. “I’m young again!”</p><p>The multicolored lights of the machines were mixing with the crazy sounds of all the games inside, making Dakota feel like he had entered another dimension altogether. He jumped on his feet, checking the many adventures available to try as he passed by them. A shooting game against aliens made him gasp, an extremely cute puzzle game made him giggle; and he almost decided for a colorful dance arcade that promised to be, at the very least, a really fun mess. Then he saw it.</p><p>A racing game.</p><p>Dakota bounced to it, excited. A racing game was exactly what he wanted to play, and that one looked awesome! It had so many cars, and two cabinets to compete against another player. But there was a problem: a quite large group of teenagers was already playing on that game, and for the look of it, they didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Boomer! He so wanted to try the taxi…!</p><p>“Dakota!” He heard the familiar voice of Cavendish behind him and turned around to see him making his way there. “Dakota, you won’t believe what I did. I ordered a large quantity of food and then I changed my order slightly. And I asked for extra ketchup!” The man giggled like that had been such a rebellious act.</p><p>Dakota looked at him. <em>Damn, stop being so cute.</em> “What did ya do with the food?”</p><p>“Oh, I told them to bring it to the van, so we can have a party later!” Cav giggled. He noticed Dakota awkwardly standing next to the arcades and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I wanna play with the cars, but there’s too many people here already!” Dakota whined.</p><p>Had Cavendish been in his usual mental capacity, he would know the next decision was a bad idea. Had Cavendish been in his usual mental capacity, he would chastise himself for being irresponsible, impulsive and not thinking of the possible consequences of his acts.</p><p>Of course, Cavendish was not in his usual mental capacity.</p><p>“I know!” The British exclaimed, turning to look at the young teenager group. “Excuse me, young lads! Would you enjoy some chargeless refreshments?” he asked, making them look back at him in confusion.</p><p>“Free food. He asked if you want free food,” Dakota translated.</p><p>“You’re not going to offer us candy in the back of a van, aren’t you?” one of the boys asked suspiciously.</p><p>“Oh good Lord, certainly not!” Cavendish replied. “It’s food from the Slushy Dawng! In the front of that van, not in the back, such a silly idea! You don’t even have to step inside, you can take whatever you want. We’ll take care of the trash, we are space janitors!” </p><p> The teenagers looked at each other for a moment, considering the offer. As much as Cavendish was certainly a strange man, he didn’t look dangerous, and the promise of food was tempting.</p><p>“Eh, free burgers;” one of them shrugged, finally making the group leave the machine alone. The former time travelers were fortunate none of the teenagers had ill intentions, because otherwise that could have been the last time they saw their van.</p><p>Dakota looked at the group storming away and beamed, immediately jumping at the opportunity of seating on the now free arcade. He took the wheel and made some motor sounds, ready to start playing; but midway at putting a coin to start the game, he noticed his partner was still standing there, looking at him attentively with his arms folded behind his back.</p><p>“Aren’t ya going to the party?” Dakota asked. “You organized all that to be popular, remember?”</p><p>“I… I concede it’s a tempting notion,” The older man shifted the weight on his feet, looking uncomfortably at his sides. If it wasn’t because there were too many colored lights in the room, Dakota could have sworn he was blushing. “However, it seems this particular game has attracted your attention and I would wish to… ehem… join you.”</p><p>“Are you kidding?” Dakota almost yelled, unable to suppress his excitement. “Come here, we are gonna rock this baby!”</p><p>Feeling less nervous, Cavendish jumped to the next arcade with a huge smile, clumsily trying to fit his long legs in the space that was usually only occupied by children. Dakota giggled at him before using some cash to start the game.</p><p>“I’m gonna use the taxi!” The Italian proclaimed happily. “Taxis are the best, they take you places.”</p><p>“That’s the expected function of any vehicle, Dakota;” Cavendish lectured. He looked at the options, indecisive. “I reckon I could use the firefighters truck, albeit it’s certainly an odd choice for a racing game…”</p><p>“You better than anyone should know how fast they can go;” Dakota teased playfully. “Man, I’m gonna be the driving king!”</p><p>“Not fair!” The British man pouted. “You always get to be the king. Don’t I deserve some recognition?”</p><p>“Th-that’s not the point, it’s just for fun. You don’t need recognition to have fun.”</p><p>“Fun is not beneficial to a productive goal;” Cavendish almost recited, as if that exact words had been repeated to him over and over during years.</p><p>“Sometimes you don’t need a goal,” Dakota pondered out-loud, while trying to get his taxi to not fall into the sea. “Or the goal can be having fun! Look at this, I totally blew up the taxi! I’m not going to win this one, but I don’t care. I like playing with ya.”</p><p>“That’s not what my parents said…” Cavendish frowned, focused on trying to stay on the road. Following traffic regulations turned out to be awfully hard in video games.</p><p>“So what? I say it now: you’re allowed to have fun. You work enough. Relax, man,” Dakota hit him with his elbow before jumping to his arcade again. “Crap, I caught fire!”</p><p>“Language!”</p><p>“Sorry!”</p><p>“How did your car catch fire? It’s such a specific catastrophe;” The older man put another coin into the machine to keep playing.</p><p>“Well, I was driving across the mall and…”</p><p>“You were driving across a mall?” Cavendish scolded him. “Dakota!”</p><p>“What? it’s just I game! I didn’t run over anyone!” the Italian defended himself, restarting the game once more.</p><p>“That’s no excuse for your imprudence.”</p><p>“You’re only saying that because you’re losing.”</p><p>“I am not!”</p><p>In the middle of their banter, neither of the men realized the line of impatient children that was slowly building behind them, some of their parents already coming to see what was taking so long for two adults to finish.</p><p>“Told ‘ya I would totally rock this!” Dakota cheered after winning a race, starting a little victory dance and humming a song that sounded suspiciously familiar.</p><p>“I do demand a rematch!” The British protested, using yet another coin on the machine.</p><p>“Okay, but if you lose this time, you have to share an ice cream with me;” Dakota snorted.</p><p>Cavendish looked over his shoulder at his excited partner and lost his focus on the game for a moment. Definitely the white jumpsuit and the weird sunglasses didn’t do him justice, Cavendish could very well see Dakota was really handsome. He had soft, curly hair, a lovely tan skin and the most beautiful eyes the British man had ever seen, even under a tinted glass. Maybe it was just at how they were shining right now, but they really made Cavendish stare in awe, not quite sure exactly what he was expecting to happen.</p><p>What happened, of course, was that he crashed his truck.</p><p>“Ah! You should totally have taken the sewers for that part! I’m so gonna win this one!” Dakota chuckled.</p><p>“Oh, blimey!” The older man snapped out of his previous thoughts and returned his focus to the game. “This is surely some kind of malfunction. I’m a far better driver than you!”</p><p>“Come on, Cav, you know that’s a lie. I winned you over with my impressive driver skills when we met;” the Italian bragged.</p><p>“No, you winned me over because I had been always taught there was a single correct way to act, and you shaked my world with your golden heart, your sense of justice and your stupidly attractive smile;” Cavendish pointed out calmly.</p><p>Dakota’s taxi crashed, but despite his wide eyes, he was not seeing the screen.</p><p>“My what…?”</p><p>And again, as quickly as it started, the effects of the amnesia device stopped, leaving two very confused men to confront a bunch of angry parents in the arcade.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on this. Life is being such a mess right now, and I'm really having problems finding the will to write. The story is pretty much sketched, I just struggle wording it correctly.</p><p>I wanna thanks LadyJuse and Leoh again for having the patience to read these and help me correcting them before updating. I'm still not very confident in my writing of these two, but I'm doing my best. Please enjoy my humble contribution to the fandom!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Zap.</em>
</p><p>The third blackout, had Dakota and Cavendish been in any condition to properly evaluate their situation, would have been described as the most fun.</p><p>“What happened?” Cavendish blinked, looking around the old van.</p><p>They were just now driving away from Slushy Dawg’s drive-thru. Dakota was at the wheel, although the shock on his face revealed he also had no idea what they were doing there. Cavendish inspected the space around him only to find the vehicle trashed to the brim with empty wraps of the fast food chain. Weird, he didn’t remember eating anything, and definitely not anything on this wild quantity!</p><p>“What in the juice are those?” he muttered, taking one of the empty wraps. As much as it could had been pointed out as ironic considering his job, Cavendish was still queasy around any kind of filth. Not as much because it was repulsive, but because it greatly bothered the Brit’s need for order.</p><p>“I have no idea;” Dakota replied. His eyes lingered through the mess around him long enough to make the brunette drive by the arcade without noticing it. Without anything catching his attention, Dakota kept driving aimlessly, not sure where they were going.</p><p>“I have the feeling we are forgetting something…” Cavendish pondered, trying to remember. He looked at his partner and struggled to think in the proper name he should use. “Don’t you think so, Vinnie?”</p><p>Dakota flinched slightly. “Don’t call me that!”</p><p>“Why?” the British man blinked. He had been so sure Vinnie was the correct name.</p><p>“I don’t know, it feels weird. Call me… call me…”</p><p>“Dakota?”</p><p>“Yeah, that.”</p><p>“Very well… Dakota. Where are we going?” Cavendish looked around.</p><p>“I’m not sure, maybe…” the younger man trailed off, having no idea of what to suggest.</p><p>“Circus!” Cavendish interrupted with a yell, and Dakota almost jumped out of his seat. The British man had seen a billboard announcing a nearby circus and promptly decided that had to be their destination. “We were going to the circus! Now I remember.”</p><p>“Hey, that sounds fun!” Dakota agreed, making his way there. “What are we gonna do? Can I get cotton candy? I’m starving! And I wanna see the clowns! I so hope they have animals, I love animals, if they have a lion I’m gonna squeal. Did you know male lions can easily weigh more than 400 lb? Although it depends on the subspecies. Asian lions are smaller, but I don’t think they will have Asian ones because the population is more scarce, even in this century. I bet they have an African one, you see, the funny thing about African lions is…”</p><p>“We reached our destination!” Cavendish announced once Dakota parked the van, causing the Italian to stop rambling for a moment. Enough time to clearly hear the next words before his tall partner jumped out of the vehicle. “You can be charming later. Come on!”</p><p><em>Charming?</em> Dakota certainly was thrilled to hear that. He wanted to dwell in the feeling that such a handsome man considered him charming, and wasn’t this feeling really similar to a date? Dakota smiled to himself for a second, before a crushing memory returned to him.</p><p>“We are just work partners;” the Italian groaned before leaving the car. Right. No feelings, at least not the ones Dakota had for so long hoped there would appear between them. But still…</p><p>Cavendish, for a man with silver hair, a neatly trimmed moustache and an elegant (if quite silly) hat; was truly acting like a child in a candy store the moment he stepped between the vendors of the circus, squealing and dancing on his feet excitedly. Dakota found himself smiling fondly at such sight, the scene was terribly adorable.</p><p>Cavendish was terribly adorable.</p><p>Yeah, Dakota now remembers why he still had those feelings, no matter how impossible to act on them could be.</p><p>“Dakota, look, it’s Dennis’ little brother!” Cavendish gasped pointing at a small teddy bear in one of the stalls.</p><p>Wasn’t Dennis a coconut? No, no, now Dakota remembered: Dennis was that big teddy bear Cavendish owned and liked to hug every time he was stressed. It turns out little Balthazar had been stripped to the right to own plushies very early in life by his parents, who didn’t want the bullies to have (more) reasons to target him. There was a lot Cavendish had never had the chance to experience as a kid, actually, always under the disciplined, overwhelming watch of his parents, his tutors, his peers and his own insecurities.</p><p>Dakota, on the other hand, would have accepted even the most cruel of bullies just to have someone, anyone, pay attention to him for a minute. No one ever had time for little Vinnie, always forgotten, always alone, always less important than his siblings, his mother, his friends; always craving the simple pleasure of being acknowledged.</p><p>He and Cavendish were very different indeed.</p><p>Dakota was so immersed in his thoughts, that the hand that suddenly grabbed him by the wrist caught him completely unprepared.</p><p>“Wha…?” Dakota stumbled, being almost carried away by Cavendish. Damn, the man was strong! And Dakota was not the only one Cavendish was taking away: tucked under his other arms was the teddy bear the Brit had been gushing over only a minute ago.</p><p>The yells behind them told Dakota that Cavendish wasn’t supposed to have that teddy bear.</p><p>After getting dragged inside a tent filled with costumes, Dakota couldn’t do much more than process that they were both changing clothes and following lead. Cavendish was chuckling mischievously (or at least, he was trying to) as he tried on a different outfit, and Dakota didn’t have time to be very selective before getting himself into a bright yellow leotard and a purple tutu skirt. Not his best combination, but it will have to do.</p><p>As they both stormed out of the tent and away from the angry vendors, using their disguises to walk unnoticed behind their van, Dakota finally had a moment to think.</p><p>First thing he processed was that Cavendish looked ridiculous.</p><p>“Blue and green. Seriously, Cav?” he chuckled. “And I thought I had bad color coordination!”</p><p>“You have. Yellow and purple?” Cavendish giggled, still clinging to the stolen teddy bear. “Your sense of fashion had gone worse with the years.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, totally. But don’t tell me yellows and reds and the like aren’t far more fun than black.”</p><p>“Well, I think blue is a pretty distinguished color myself.”</p><p>“Not like this!”</p><p>They heard angry steps getting closer and instinctively glued their backs to the van, hoping no one had heard them. Dakota didn’t fail to notice the wide smile Cavendish had during the few tense seconds, probably enjoying the adrenaline rush. When the mob passed by without noticing them, the British man squealed, excited by his actions.</p><p>“We did it! Now Dennis will be reunited with his brother. They have to be together, don’t you agree?”</p><p>Dakota was going to answer when something else distracted him. ”Well, look at this!”</p><p>Someone had thrown away a barely eaten piece of cotton candy on a nearby trash can, which also had chocolate syrup all over it. The food didn’t appear dirty, but Cavendish flinched in disgust regardless. It was in the trash, and the way Dakota was eyeing it with hungry eyes and grabby hands, it was obvious the Italian was planning to eat it!</p><p>“No, bad Dakota!” the older man slapped his partner’s hands, making Dakota whine and look at him with pleading eyes. Cavendish didn’t cave. “You’re not going to eat that.”</p><p>“But it’s barely touched! And I’m hungry!”</p><p>“It would make you sick. Even if this wasn’t a trash can, candy floss with chocolate can’t be a good combination for your stomach;” Cavendish folded his arms behind his back.</p><p>“But my sugar levels…” Dakota whined again.</p><p>“Vincent Dakota, if we have any concern about your sugar levels, I will personally provide you with an adequate glucose snack or, come to the worst, your medicine.”</p><p>“Yeah, right, my medic…” Dakota’s eyes went wide in shock, quickly turning his head to face his partner. “I never told you that, how do you know that?”</p><p>“We have known each other for ten years,” Cavendish scoffed. “You don’t need to tell me for me to know. If anything, I am surprised you didn’t use it as an excuse to make me agree to let you eat more.”</p><p>Dakota looked sheepishly at the floor. “I-I dunno, didn’t want to make you worried or somethin’…”</p><p>“As a matter of fact, I could not stop worrying about you, even if I desired so. And that certainly doesn’t appeal to me.”</p><p>Something warm grew on Dakota’s chest, his cheeks turning hot and the feeling of his heart thumping on his ears. He knew Cavendish cared about him, but the man was proud and reserved and a hot mess at showing his emotions, so there were not many times Dakota had the chance to hear such sincere, unfiltered words from him. The rest of the world could be just a blurry memory right now, but the Italian almost didn’t care.</p><p>Had Dakota been in his usual mental capacity, he would have been careful to not be caught staring. But of course, Dakota was not in his usual mental capacity.</p><p>And Cavendish was staring back.</p><p>“Vinnie…” The British started, and his name sounded so beautiful in Cavendish’ lips that Dakota felt like melting right there. “I would like you to have Dennis’ brother.”</p><p>“What? No, you said they had to be together.”</p><p>“They WILL be together. I took him for you. Because Dennis and Adam are meant to be together, and so are we.”</p><p>“You named him Adam…?” Dakota’s mouth asked before his brain could process the last part of the sentence.</p><p>Which sounded like a proposition.</p><p>An awful, awful lot like a romantic proposition.</p><p>The Italian leaned in the old van’s side, his legs refusing to support his weight anymore. His already impulsive nature was mixing with the effect of the alien device, and the result was simply too overwhelming to Dakota to act on any of it. There was too much he wished to do at once. Screaming of joy. Asking a million questions. Hug Cavendish. Hug Adam. Dance. Sing. Laugh. Take Balthazar by that pretty waist of his…</p><p>Kiss Cavendish until the world faded away.</p><p>“Hey, you two!” a woman shouted at them from the distance, breaking the spell. “Are you the understudies for the sick trapeze artists?”</p><p>Both men blinked and looked at each other before returning their gaze to the woman. Cavendish straightened his back and put on the most dignified posture his leopards let him, still holding on the small teddy bear as if he feared it could run away at any moment.</p><p>“Indeed we are,” the tall man informed, like he was offended someone could mistake them for anyone else but the understudies. “That must be why we are here.”</p><p>“Right, whatever. You’re late. Follow me;” the woman groaned.</p><p>Dakota started following her immediately (if only to flee from the incredibly awkward situation), until he realized Cavendish was not walking behind him.</p><p>“Hey Bal, whatcha doin’?” the shorter man inquired.</p><p>“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be right there in a minute.”</p><p>“Okay…?” Dakota didn’t want to leave, really, but they were apparently trapeze artists and had a show to do right now. He hoped to remember soon how using a trapeze worked, because at the moment he had no idea.</p><p>Behind his back, Cavendish unlocked the van and climbed in the back, dodging the previous food trash more clumsily he would had liked. Careful to not stain it in the process, he left the teddy bear in a safe corner of the vehicle before closing it and storming behind his partner again. The woman was describing the number to Dakota, who looked seriously concerned. Cavendish, however, was not.</p><p>“We will not only perform such a prestigious number!” the Brit chirped. “But we are going to do so without the assistance of a net!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Reveal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Zap.</em>
</p><p>The fourth blackout was certainly the most revealing.</p><p>“What happened?” Cavendish blinked, looking around the old van.</p><p>They were just now driving away from Slushy Dawg’s drive-thru. Dakota was at the wheel, although the shock on his face revealed he also had no idea what they were doing there. The empty wraps were still laying around them, and that prompted Cavendish to question their origin the same way he had done last time, not aware it had been a last time at all.</p><p>It brought the two men to the same point. Dakota had been driving aimlessly, Cavendish had called him Vinnie and it had been uncomfortable for the Italian, albeit this time the experience was certainly laced with a familiar feeling he couldn't quite place. Even if he still requested to be called Dakota, this time there was a strange warm on his chest about the way ‘Vinnie’ sounded on Cavendish’s lips.</p><p>Dakota didn’t usually like being addressed by his last name (it sounded so unecessarly formal), but he had gotten so used to the way Cavendish pronounced it that he ended up loving it. The tall man would spur “Dakota!” in that proper, lovely British accent, sounding like that simple word could be able to tear him apart by sheer annoyance; and filled Dakota with the simple pleasure of being acknowledged. To be the root of such intense feeling, even if it was often negative, proved that Dakota was relevant to Cavendish. Important.</p><p>Dakota thrived with attention, and that was something Cavendish had never denied him.</p><p>But hearing ‘Vinnie’ was another layer of feelings entirely. Unnatural and awkward, yet sweet and intimate. And at that moment, also so very familiar. Dakota couldn’t quite place it, but haven’t he heard Cavendish calling his name before? In some kind of confession or something…?</p><p>“Circus!” Cavendish interrupted with a yell, and Dakota almost jumped out of his seat. The British man had seen a billboard announcing a nearby circus and promptly decided that had to be their destination. “We were going to the circus! Now I remember.”</p><p>“Hey, that sounds fun!” Dakota agreed, making his way there. “What are we gonna do? Can I get cotton candy? I’m starving! And I wanna see the clowns! I so hope they have animals, I love animals, if they have a lion I’m gonna squeal. Did you know male lions…?”</p><p>This time, his rant was cut short.</p><p>Just in front of them, another vehicle joined the road, coming from the same place they planned to visit. A truck with a big cage was transporting what it seems to be a bunch of circus seals, probably trained to do tricks as entertainment. Cavendish didn’t mind the view very much, and if it wasn’t because Dakota had abruptly stopped talking, he wouldn’t have even noticed. What he noticed, however, is how the exit they were supposed to take next to head to the circus was ignored, leaving it behind.</p><p>“Dakota, we missed the exit!” Cavendish scolded seeing how his partner focused on following the truck instead.</p><p>“We can’t leave these poor animals like this!” Dakota argued with concerned eyes, his voice almost a whimper. “We have to free them, they don’t deserve to be locked in cages looking so sad.”</p><p>Cavendish had to concede that the seals looked truly miserable indeed, and something about how Dakota had immediately decided he had to help the creatures was really touching by itself. The man really was a kind soul, wasn’t he?</p><p>In comparison, Cavendish felt bad. He hadn’t even noticed the seals until Dakota had pointed them out, and would have ignored the sight otherwise. The British man wondered how many times in the past he hadn't been able to help because he simply wasn’t aware enough of his surroundings, and such thought ended up being so much more painful than he expected. It was not quite about protecting others, but… himself? Cavendish frowned. What was that about? And why did it fill him with such a sense of unresolved guilt? It was not like he had been jumping into danger, not deliberately.</p><p>Right…?</p><p>“Those are California sea lions,” Dakota was still talking. “But see, we don’t wanna scare them. It’s better if we wait for the thing to stop and then we think how to free them. I’m gonna need your help tho, ‘cause this is kinda…”</p><p>“You want my help;” Cavendish stated blandly, still not quite processing his feelings right.</p><p>“Yeah, of course! Literally who else I would want to help me?”</p><p>“Jeremy,” Cavendish almost hissed before actually thinking about it, crossing his arms over his chest and sulking in the car seat. He almost didn’t remember anything about a Jeremy, except that Cavendish was very much upset with him.</p><p>“The fast food guy? Why would I want that?” Dakota was confused.</p><p>“I don’t know,” the taller man replied sharply. “Maybe because you seemed to enjoy flirting with him.”</p><p>“What? No! I was just messing around, I have no idea who he is or how he looks like, and I don’t care. I’m surprised you even remem…” a realization hit Dakota, and before he could help himself, his eyes went wide and a smirk so intense it made his cheeks hurt set in place. “Cavendish, are you jealous?”</p><p>“Of course not!” A jerk-knee reaction. “Such a preposterous thought! I do not envy other people getting your attention in the slightest!”</p><p>“Oh my gosh, you totally are jealous! That’s why you always get so grumpy every time I flirt with Savannah? Come on, you know I only wanna annoy her!” To be honest, Dakota wasn’t entirely sure who Savannah was. The words had flew out of his mouth automatically, like this had been something he had wished to say for so long.</p><p>“I, well, of course I’m aware of that, but I simply…” Cavendish thought he was going to die of embarrassment right there, his cheeks burning in bright pink. He thought he had those silly feelings of himself under control and yet, what almost left his lips was ‘want you to only look at me’. Fortunately for his ego, the world gave him another sentence to articulate. “Look, the truck is turning right! Hurry, Dakota, follow it!”</p><p>So did the Italian, and they soon found themselves in a port filled with all kinds of warehouses, the sea in the background. The truck parked next to what seemed to be some kind of fish wholesale facility and the two men carefully left their van hiding in the corner. The driver of the truck was screaming at his phone as he left the vehicle, his stance clearly annoyed with the other end of the call.</p><p>“Yes, I know sea lions like fish! No, I don’t know exactly how much fish they need for the week! What I am, their babysitter? I still think that shouldn’t be in my job description!” the man ranted, looking at the warehouse. “Yes, I’m going to get them food now. I don’t care, if you don’t help me out on this why the hell I do even have a manager?”</p><p>Taking advantage of the trucker’s distraction, Cavendish and Dakota sneaked past him on their tiptoes, making as little sound as they could. They reached the opening of the cage successfully, and Cavendish looked at the man going inside the warehouse from the corner of his eye. Oh, weren’t they such sneaky troublemakers? How so very exciting…!</p><p>“Don’t worry, big fellas,” Dakota offered the sea lions with a relaxed smile through the metallic bars. “We’re gonna get ya out of here soon enough. Just wait until I find somethin’ to force the…”</p><p>Without warning and almost causing Dakota a heart attack, Cavendish came from nowhere with a big pipe wrench and smashed the lock to pieces, a maniacal grin on his face. The Italian backed, alarmed. Wow, the man really had pent-up rage, didn’t he?</p><p>“...oooooor this works too, I guess,” Dakota just admitted. The door swung open, giving the sea lions a free pass to the near ocean. “Here ya go buddies, you’re free!”</p><p>The animals hesitated for a moment before trusting the two men and leaving the truck, honking happily as they marched to the water. One even licked Dakota’s face, a gesture that made the Italian grin even more, though Cavendish (who was acting like he hadn’t just blown up a block with a wrench a few seconds ago) kept his distance. The British man was scared of most animals, especially of anything bigger than a small dog.</p><p>“Don’t get yourself in trouble!” Dakota waved at the sea lions swimming into the sea, walking at the edge of the nearest dock. He was beaming when Cavendish walked at his side, a shy smile of his own.</p><p>They both stared at the ocean for a minute, in silence. The sky was slightly tinted with orange and red hues signaling the end of the day, and the sound of the waves were calm and relaxing. The sun was bathing the scene with golden soft rays, making the water glitter and shine in that ethereal way only sunsets were able to produce. Anything besides the beautiful scene the nature has created in front of their eyes seemed distant and quiet. It was only them and the ocean.</p><p>“How did you know about my sugar thing?” Dakota questioned without turning his head. That seemed to be something that had been lingering on the back of his mind, not quite taking over but always present.</p><p>“Hypoglycemia.”</p><p>“Yeah, whatever. How do you know that?”</p><p>Cavendish gulped. In other circumstances, he would have never admitted the truth. “You hide so much from me, Dakota, and you think I don’t realize. It’s true that it took me years to understand the extent of it, but I’m not as oblivious as you think… I found your Glucagon prescription by accident when I was cleaning the office. Figured out then there was no need to bring my discovery to you, that you will eventually tell me yourself. As your partner. As your friend. But you never did,” A deep sigh. “You don’t trust me.”</p><p>Dakota turned his head, alarmed. “No, no, it’s not that! I told ya, I didn’t want you to worry, that’s all.”</p><p>“You are just like my parents!” Cavendish snapped, also turning his head to face him, rage shining on his eyes. “You don’t need to know this, you don’t need to know that, just let everyone else guide your own life while you sit quietly like a good boy!” Dakota blinked, shocked by the sudden wave of anger, but Cavendish wasn’t done yet. “You think you’re protecting me, but the truth is that it is easier for you to act if neurotic, obsessive Balthazar is not in the way!”</p><p>“Cav…”</p><p>“What do you think this makes me feel? Do you think this makes me not care? I do care, and I always will! I care about you, Vinnie Dakota, and maybe I’m not the best at showing it, but you are also being unfair with me. We deserve better than this,” Cavendish softened, his anger quickly fading into sadness. Dakota thought he could see the glimpse of tears on his beautiful turquoise eyes, and a sharp pain shoot through his heart.</p><p>“You’re right,” the Italian sighed. His chest ached with pure pain, and it was well deserved. Dakota took his glasses off, slightly trembling and how vulnerable was that making him feel, and slowly walked the couple steps that separated him from his partner. The world, figuratively and literally, gor blurrier around him, but Dakota didn’t care. “I shouldn’t decide what’s best for you, it’s unfair. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“So am I,” Cavendish replied softly. Usually he hated looking anyone in the eyes, but those lovely chocolate irises were mesmerizing. So sweet, so warm, so bold, so… devoted. “I know you are trying to protect me because I’m a mess. And I complain too much, I nag you for everything, I obsess over the wrong things and I don’t listen. I’m never thankful enough.”</p><p>Cavendish was surprised at his own words. All of this… he knew, but had never acknowledged before, too scared the admission would make all his flaws all the more real. The truth was in the air now, raw and ugly, and Cavendish didn’t have the courage to stop looking at those beautiful dark eyes.</p><p>“And I will never do enough, be enough. Because I… I…” he stuttered.</p><p>“I know,” Dakota whispered. This was surreal. Cavendish’s eyes glowed like the most gorgeous gems he had ever seen, and they were so so very close… When did he get so close? It didn’t matter. Stepping on his tiptoes, Dakota planned to keep going until those two pools of blue were the only thing on his vision. “Me too.”</p><p>“What happened here?!” the trucker’s voice cut through them and both blinked, suddenly realizing their situation.</p><p>In other circumstances, they would have blushed, stammered some excuses, Cavendish would have started complaining and Dakota would be rushing to find something to eat, both avoiding their feelings the best they knew. But this time, there were more pressing matters to attend, like an angry trucker walking in their direction with a very furious expression and a very big rifle.</p><p>“Dakota, run!” Cavendish yelped, getting in motion himself.</p><p>“Don’t have to tell me twice!” The Italian joined immediately, putting his glasses back. Damn it, this was his soup tracksuit, not the running one!</p><p>“Come back here, you misfits! What in heaven have you done to the sea lions?!” The man yelled at them. Fortunately, a ring on his phone seemed to distract him enough to allow them to run away.</p><p>Panting against the wall of a building not too far away, Dakota struggled to get his breath back to normal as he left all his weight to press into the cold stone. Cavendish, who was in better shape by far, only needed a few seconds of rest before exploding on a series of giddy giggles and little feet dances. Wouldn’t Dakota have been more concerned with getting some air into his lungs, he would have beamed at the cute display.</p><p>“We lost him!” Cavendish chuckled. “We are getting good at sneaking like true secret agents!”</p><p>Neither of them really understood the reference. As far as they remember, this was the first time they had to flee from an angry person today.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah… hey, Cav, back on the dock…” Dakota gasped for air, determined to make things clear. Except, he didn’t remember what things had to be cleared. In fact, what was he going to say? “Why were we on a dock…?”</p><p>“Well…” Cavendish didn’t remember either, so he said the first thing that came to his mind concerning docks. “We were fishing, obviously.”</p><p>“Oh, man, and why don’t we have any fish?” Dakota whined.</p><p>“Because you are a terrible fisherman;” Cavendish pointed out like it was obvious.</p><p>“Hey, that’s not true! You were the terrible one!”</p><p>“I was certainly not!”</p><p>“You were!”</p><p>“I wasn’t!”</p><p>Getting aware for the first time of his surroundings, Dakota noticed they had walked away from the port and were on a little commercial street with several souvenir stores, including one that sold costumes, another one for swimming equipment and a big one that was renting scooters. A sudden idea crossed his mind as he grinned at his partner.</p><p>“Tell ya what, if you can pull me to the floor on a scooter with one of those weird noodle things, I will admit you are better fishing than me;” the Italian proposed with a smug smile.</p><p>“That’s ridiculous, Dakota;” Cavendish scoffed.</p><p>“Oooooh, maybe someone is scared of losing?” the Italian mocked without losing his grin.</p><p>“Alright! By all means, then, prepare to be proved wrong!”</p><p>“Oh, you’re ON!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Passion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Zap.</em>
</p><p>The fifth and last blackout could only be described as passionate, in all the many meanings and implications such a word was able to conjure.</p><p>“What happened?” Cavendish blinked, looking around the old van.</p><p>They were just now driving away from Slushy Dawg’s drive-thru. Dakota was at the wheel, although the shock on his face revealed he also had no idea what they were doing there. Cavendish paid attention to his own hands to discover he had been writing some kind of message on the windshield of the vehicle with a ketchup packet. Weird.</p><p>“What on Earth am I doing?” Cavendish wondered looking at the sauce.</p><p>“Dunno, man. Hey, check this out!” Dakota had spotted the arcade he was not aware they already visited, and his reaction was expected: with a harsh gesture he pushed the brackets, stopping the van abruptly and making them collapse against their seatbelts for a third time that day.</p><p>And in other circumstances, perhaps in another time earlier that same day, Cavendish would have reached to hug his partner out of pure instinct; but now he had a very inconvenient packet between his hands that caused him to move awkwardly in place, squirming its content unintentionally all over the place. The drops of ketchup that didn’t end making a mess on his hands flew into the air and ended hitting another target altogether.</p><p>Dakota didn’t react fast enough to dodge it, and soon enough had his face and sunglasses covered in drops of the sticky red sauce.</p><p>“Cav, gross!” He protested. “You could just say ‘no’”.</p><p>“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Cavendish defended himself. “It was an accident. Besides, would you really have listened to me if I said no?”</p><p>“Maybe today it was the day I was planning to listen to you.”</p><p>“I very much doubt that.”</p><p>“You’re so bossy,” Dakota teased, cleaning his face with his sleeve. He had to take off his sunglasses to clean them, because he couldn’t see anything. “I just wanna have some fun with ya. Come on, don’t ya wanna spend some time with me?” the Italian smiled fondly, his raspy voice getting deeper.</p><p>And then, he looked at Cavendish.</p><p>It was like a lightning, or perhaps like a bright flash of light. All of sudden, looking at those chocolate eyes without the familiar tinted glass obscuring them, Cavendish remembered the dock. Not exactly why were they in a dock, not even what the conversation had been about. Just the feeling of proximity, the truth being spoken, the relief of a confession. The sadness of not being enough, and then the warmth of being accepted. The fear of messing everything up. The hope that Dakota, his Dakota, was getting closer for the exact reason he hadn’t moved. His anxiety screaming that this was just a prank, his desire screaming to puck his lips.</p><p>The overwhelming feeling of love pouring over him, blinding all his senses until all he could see was Dakota. Vinnie. The man that had slowly taught him to love and trust, who was always there for him, who accepted and cherished Cavendish not despite his imperfections, but because of them.</p><p>Dakota sensed the sudden mood change in the air, even though all Cavendish was doing was staring at him with wide eyes and slightly opening and closing his mouth like he wasn’t sure what to say. For a moment, Dakota wanted to make a pun, annoy his partner a little and just go play video games. But as soon as his eyes set over the big blue ones of Cavendish, Dakota was at loss of words too.</p><p>The dock. Those were the same sad, confused, hopeful eyes of the dock. The glimpse of tears making the turquoise pupils shine impossibly more beautiful, a bright mix of emotions that despite the confused feelings, was warm and inviting. Dakota felt his heart melting again, aching so bad for the man in front of him; so many years of repressed love fighting to come out and take some affection, a little affection, just a tiny bit of affection.</p><p>This was the part when Dakota realized this was not okay. Cavendish didn’t feel the same for him, and if he did, he should be the one to do the first move. This was the part where Dakota was careful to stop staring, cracked a joke and made sure to keep his feelings buried in the bottom of his chest, where they belonged.</p><p>But today, the rational part of his brain was blocked. And so, Dakota acted on his whim.</p><p>He took Cavendish by the cheeks and kissed him passionately, with such intense need it made both of them dizzy. It was a hungry kiss, wet and deep, desperate and starved for the touch. Cavendish lips were so very soft and tasted like tea, a bitter flavor that soon dissipated to reveal a much sweeter note underneath. Dakota knew his partner used far more sugar on his tea than he would ever admit, but he doubted it could have that much effect on how absolutely delicious Cavendish was. His fair skin was delicate and velvety, his cheeks burned under Dakota’s fingers, and his slender frame allowed the Italian to notice every little movement and detail of his face. The way the Brit’s mustache bristled with the contact only made Dakota sigh out of love. It was absolutely intoxicating to say at least.</p><p>Cavendish would have used the word tantalizing if he had been in any condition to think about a word. Dakota was soft and warm, and he tastes salty and… syrupy? Like he had been dipping French fries in chocolate milkshake (and being Dakota, who said he hadn’t?). It was an explosion for the senses, a series of contradictions that, somehow, worked perfectly together. Everything about the Italian felt inviting and comfortable, like nothing in the world could go wrong as long as their lips remained together. Cavendish moaned softly against his mouth, a pure rush of bliss getting the best of him as he succumbed to the pleasure of the kiss, his hands automatically searching for the shoulders of his partner. Dakota tasted heavenly. Dakota was heavenly, and everything on him was simply perfect.</p><p>“Let’s get married,” Dakota gasped, breathless, when their lips parted. He wasn’t thinking, not anymore.</p><p>“Married…?” Cavendish blinked in confusion, not quite registering the petition. His eyes were still hazy, his expression lost after the kiss he didn’t want to admit he wanted for so long.</p><p>“Okay, marriage maybe is a little too much, but I need you,” Dakota exhaled, his voice hurried and his eyelids heavy. Unable to stop himself now he had started, the Italian was pouring all his feelings outside like he had never allowed himself to. “I need you. I had nothing, I had no one, and then you came and stayed, you stayed with me. You gave me a chance when everyone was leaving and… you are the reason I keep going. Why I wake up in the morning. Why I care about anything at all, why I don’t try to destroy myself everyday.”</p><p>“I need you, Balthazar. I want to be with you the rest of my life, as whatever you need from me. I’ll adapt, just… let me be close. Let me be there.”</p><p>Cavendish didn’t know what exactly was happening in his mind at that moment, only that all kinds of alarms were ringing loudly on his head. In panic, he answered the way he was more used to: a sharp remark. “And a wedding was `too much`?”</p><p>“Yeah, maybe a declaration of undying love is worse…” Dakota chuckled, but his laugh was dry and painful. This had been a mistake. He screwed up. He was going to ruin everything, and all because he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut…!</p><p>“Alright,” Cavendish said softly, and his tone wasn’t uncertain but it was surely shocked, like he wasn’t the one speaking his own voice.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Let’s do that. Let’s get married;” panic was in Cavendish’s eyes, like he was not the one giving permission for those words to slip from his lips. His tone, however, remained calm.</p><p>“Fuck, seriously?” Dakota rasped, and all of sudden, the world was spinning around him.</p><p>“Language!”</p><p>“Sorry!”</p><p>“You… would really want to get married… with me…?” The British man blushed, all the stammering and anxiety suddenly returning to his voice, while he furiously scrabbed the sauce from his hands with a tissue. He was looking everywhere but Dakota. This has to be some kind of prank, some kind of mistake, Cavendish was sure of it.</p><p>Dakota had far too many thoughts on his mind about how yes, this was exactly what he wanted, exactly the only thing he had wanted for a decade; so much and so strongly that his heart seemed near to burst in pieces every time Cavendish was close to him. Too many emotions, too much love, just too much to say.</p><p>So instead, Dakota answered kissing his partner again. It was rushed and probably not his best idea, but Dakota simply couldn't stop. Cavendish’s lips were the most alluring feeling he had ever experienced. Just so soft, so sweet, so gentle.</p><p>Cavendish, to his own surprise, wasn’t backing up either. Dakota was warm, and pleasant, and simply marvelous. The Brit figured he was fine with that answer, he adored the explosive display of affection his impulsive friend was granting him with. Carefully, he moved his hands to Dakota’s hair to feel that thick, soft curls brushing against his fingers; while the Italian pressed his to Cavendish’s waist, desperately leaning towards him like just stopping to breath could mean his partner was going to dissolve in thin air.</p><p>Dakota’s mind was clouded and his body was too eager for him to control. He didn’t realize his lips were going from Cavendish’s mouth to his throat until he heard a breathless whimper and realized he was humming against the pale skin, softly sucking it. Dakota backed up, feeling hot and heavy and dizzy, wanting to make sure he hadn’t scared his partner with his blunt gesture. Cavendish looked down at him, pink and ruffled, not really opposed to the proximity but clearly overwhelmed by the speed; and as much as Dakota wanted to continue, this was not right. Cavendish needed time.</p><p>“So, you wanna…?” The stout man began, and he really wasn’t sure how he was supposed to end the sentence. Kiss? Make out? Be together for all eternity?</p><p>“M-marry, yes!” Cavendish exclaimed, all pink down to his neck. At the moment, for him, that was the perfect excuse to make the kissing stop, because if that went on for even another second, he would break apart like shattered glass. His mind was wandering into dangerous territory, and that surely would be his doom.</p><p>
  <em>Control, Balthazar. Keep it together.</em>
</p><p>Registering his partner needed an out of the situation, Dakota followed lead. “Yeah, we are totally getting married! Where do you wanna do it? What about a fancy yacht? That looks like your thing. With a nice nautical theme and whatnot.”</p><p>“I presume no one is going to rent us such an expensive deed in a timely fashion,” Cavendish argued, fixing his hair and posture in the mirror.</p><p>“Man, that’s true. We need it like right now,” suddenly, the Italian’s face lit up, eyes glowing with excitement. “But there’s a place where we can do that, Bal! The city that never sleeps!”</p><p>“Beg me pardon?” The taller man raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Las Vegas!” Dakota beamed, arms in the air.</p><p>Cavendish’s first instinct was to protest, and he opened his mouth to do so. But no words came out of it, his brain struggling to think on what was wrong with the idea. Of course, Cavendish was usually in a place where his anxiety and perfectionist nature took most of the decisions for him, but with those factors out of the equation; his more impulsive nature won the battle instead. Well, that, and Dakota’s incredibly charming smile.</p><p>“Alright then! We will go to Las Vegas and by Jove we will be getting married today,” he declared. “However, perhaps we should reconsider our choice of outfits.”</p><p>“Are you meaning to tell me white jumpsuits are not the latest fashion trend?” Dakota grinned.</p><p>“I’m very stylish, you see, and I declare these are not appropriate for a wedding.”</p><p>“I agree with half of that sentence.”</p><p>“Why, thank yo…” the intent registered late in Cavendish’s mind. “Hey!”</p><p>“Just kiddin’!” Dakota teased. He couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot, pure happiness washing over him. “Wooohooo! Then we are going to the mall!”</p><p>Predictably, Dakota ended singing his usual tune while driving to their new destination.</p><p>“We are going to the mall, we are going to the mall, and then we’re gonna get some sweet ass outfits ~...!”</p><p>Cavendish could only stare at his partner with a fondle smile on his lips.</p><p>Usually, Danville’s downtown mall was open all-year-round, making it the perfect leisure place to eat, shop or spend some quality time with friends and family. However, thanks to the presence of a very unlucky (though very optimistic) kid; the main hall needed a big restoration to recover from an accident involving a giant spider chandelier, a marble fountain, a very long line of shopping carts and a llama stampede. Due to the unfortunate circumstances, the mall had remained closed for a few days until everything would be repaired and ready to run again, and a sign on the door kindly informed any potential clients of the current situation.</p><p>The eccentric duo would have noticed such circumstances if they weren’t too busy performing their own little improvised song to pay attention to said sign.</p><p>And, after breaking inside the building with another demonstration of Cavendish’s strange talent to find abandoned pipe wrenches, the alarm system would have been immediately activated if it wasn’t because said unlucky kid was just at that moment crossing the street next where the company that monitorized said alarm was settled. How exactly a squirrel chasing a nut ended overpowering the electrical system of the entire building, causing a blackout that would take the employers nearly half an hour to fix; is a story for another time.</p><p>But with the alarm system down, nothing stopped the two men from trespassing.</p><p>“Look at this place! Why do we never come here?” Dakota shouted, enjoying the echo of his own voice.</p><p>“It doesn’t seem that popular. Look at how empty it is;” Cavendish noted.</p><p>“Yeah, they could at least turn the lights on. So depressing.”</p><p>It didn’t occur to either of them to question the obvious implications of such a state.</p><p>“So what do we need exactly? I’m not wearin’ a suit;” the Italian commented, holding his hands up defensively.</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“‘Cause I would look ridiculous, Cav.”</p><p>“Do you think I look ridiculous with a suit?” The taller man glared.</p><p>“No, no, no! You look…” Dakota swallowed a sharp breath “...really handsome. But it’s not my thing,” looking away for a moment, he nervously scratched his neck. “Look, when I was a kid I could never choose what to wear, it was always whatever my brothers didn’t fit anymore. Everything was faded and boring. Now I can decide, I just wanna have some fun with my clothes.”</p><p>“So you favor bright colors?”</p><p>“Heck yeah! Red is my fave. I dunno why are we wearing these right now, though,” Dakota looked at their white jumpsuits. “They are boring. What clothes do you like?”</p><p>“Well, I of course like…” Cavendish started with plenty of confidence, but once he was forced to think about it, he deflated. He looked away. “...I guess I like suits…”</p><p>“You ‘guess’?” Dakota raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Well, I had never actually been given much choice concerning my wardrobe,” the older man admitted quite shamefully. “I own a few pieces that I acquired here and there out of necessity, but mostly my clothes consist of suits because my parents used to pay for me to have them tailored. I wanted to have one as stylish as Professor Time, you see, but they said there was no way they would let me wear purple. Not that I complain, green is plenty elegant, but…”</p><p>“All your suits were tailored?” Dakota asked, mouth agape.</p><p>“Indeed. I find it difficult to choose clothes for myself… how do you do it?” Cavendish asked softly.</p><p>“Dunno, I just kinda look around and if somethin’ looks cool…” Dakota glanced at the area until his eyes found a costume store. He beamed. “Like that!”</p><p>Before Cavendish could even register the place his partner was referring to, Dakota was all over what it seemed to be a 80s rockstar outfit he had spotted on a rack of the store, gushing and whistling over the style and the colors. If the golden striped tank top and the impossibly tight red pants weren’t enough of a sight, Dakota also got himself a long-haired wig to complete the look, storming to the changing room with the whole set.</p><p>“Oh boy, this is going to look awesome on me!” He shouted, already unzipping his jumpsuit before even getting behind the curtains.</p><p>“The curtains, Dakota.”</p><p>“Oh, right. Sorry!”</p><p>Cavendish felt a warm tingle on his stomach as he wondered what could happen if the curtains remained open, but he quickly forced the thought out of his head to focus on the clothes in front of him. He had no idea what to choose. During most of his life, that decision had been made for him by his parents, his tutors or his advisors; the same it had been with his career, his relationships and even his hobbies. Only after he had confronted his family in order to follow his dream to become a time traveler had he even started to experience certain freedoms, but Cavendish never got used to them. If it wasn’t for Dakota, he would probably have ended going back home whimpering after the first six months alone.</p><p>Actually, if it wasn’t for Dakota, he wouldn’t have been there to take that decision in the first place.</p><p>“Check this out! This puppy is coming with me ~,” Dakota sing-sang jumping out of the dressing room. The outfit looked as ridiculous on him as it would on anyone else (and the pants were definitely a size too small), but it pulled out a giggle from Cavendish and that was enough for Dakota to decide it was perfect. “Yeah, you like it? I am fancy or what?”</p><p>In front of his partner making ridiculous poses, Cavendish had to cover his mouth with his hands to stop himself from laughing. His eyes hurted from the pressure of his cheeks, but still the Brit was completely determined to not let any sound escape his lips. “Stop that!”</p><p>Sadly, Dakota was not going to help the cause. “Stop what? This ~?” And with that, he started to dance at the rhythm of an imaginary guitar.</p><p>Cavendish bursted laughing.</p><p>And he snorted.</p><p>Burning on the brightest shade of pink he was able to turn into, Cavendish quickly covered his mouth in shame. He was so embarrassed by his laugh, it was loud and annoying, and the snorting…! His classmates used to compare him with a pig.</p><p>Dakota, on the other hand, was beaming. “Hey, I did it! Got you to show that super cute laugh of yours! Dunno why you hide it, if my laugh was this adorable I would be showing it to everyone all day.”</p><p>“It’s not adorable…” the oldest mumbled.</p><p>“It’s as adorable as the rest of you,” Dakota smiled, leaning over a rack to face him.</p><p>“Oh, well… that’s certainly flattering…” Cavendish admitted, and he let his hands lower a bit. Dakota used the opportunity to lean on even closer and kiss him on the lips again.</p><p>Unfortunately, it was just a quick peck since the rack was in the way, which forced the shorter man to step back as he grumbled. Not wanting to ruin the mood, though, he decided to focus on their mission. “What more do we need?”</p><p>“Music is usually an essential part of a wedding,” Cavendish replied, coughing a little awkwardly as the kiss had frozen him for a few seconds.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, let that to me! You still need to get some clothes. Put on something cool for me, wouldn’t ya?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>Turning around on his heels, Dakota left the store to look at their options on music. Cavendish looked at the racks of clothes again, uncertain. <em>Let’s see, something cool, something cool...</em></p><p>Vinnie Dakota had lots of virtues, including a quite remarkable talent for playing several instruments, for which taking care of the music seems to be the perfect job for him. However, his list of talents didn’t include any kind of electronic device, a world that Dakota considered nothing short of black magic, as he was completely unable to understand. And unfortunately, that also applied to electronic music equipment like the speakers he was currently looking at and struggling to decipher. He had no idea how many speakers a wedding could need.</p><p>So he decided to take them all.</p><p>Cavendish, on his end, had tried to think like Dakota when choosing his outfit, but his definitely hadn’t come as well. Trying on a more 70s look, he was wearing purple pants, a neon green shirt and a golden chain belt; not to mention the sparkly navy blue jacket. Since Dakota was wearing a wig, the british man decided to try on one too, opting by a curly blonde one. The outfit, simply put, was atrocious. But Cavendish had made it himself, without anyone to tell him what to choose, and only for that he felt happy in that clothes. Maybe they were ugly, but they tasted like freedom.</p><p>He was looking at his creation in the mirror when his phone buzzed on his pocket, signaling a message from “Amanda”. Cavendish hadn’t the slightest idea who Amanda was, but if he had her phone number saved, he supposed she had to be someone familiar. The text asked if he and Dakota wouldn’t mind taking some fireworks from the store since she was busy managing a problem with the location of some kind of event; and something about the idea of playing with fireworks triggered Cavendish's more childish side, who found himself excitedly replying they would take care of it. Amanda was sending him an address when Cavendish heard a loud “THUMP”.</p><p>“Dakota? Is all alright there?” The Brit ran to the source of the sound, that came from just outside the mall.</p><p>He found their van had been parked in front of the door, and was half-filled with several speakers of varying sizes. The sound itself had come from Dakota, that seemed to have tripped with a big one on his arms. Fortunately, neither he nor the speaker seemed to have received any damage, though Dakota was pouting at his situation.</p><p>“The big ones are too heavy!” He whined. “I can’t move them.”</p><p>“Good Lord. Here,” Cavendish scoffed, easily lifting the speaker between his arms. “I will take care of these, you are going to get hurt!”</p><p>“Wowzies, Bal, are ya sure you can alone?” Dakota quickly got into his feet, legitimately concerned for his partner despite he clearly wasn’t having any problems with the weight.</p><p>“Certainly. In the meantime, would you take some fireworks for Amanda?”</p><p>“Got it!” Dakota was wandering away before it occurred to him to ask who Amanda was or why did she need fireworks. He shrugged. If Cavendish asked, the reasons were really not important.</p><p>By the time he was back, Cavendish had not only taken all the speakers into the van, but also a variety of instruments, from electric guitars, to accordions to even a set of drums. Dakota smiled, putting the box of fireworks inside the packed vehicle, amused at how proud of himself Cavendish looked.</p><p>“Dakota, look! There’s no way we are forgetting anything concerning the music. I even took a theremin!” the taller man pointed at it.</p><p>“Sweet! I will play a victory tune with it after our wedding kiss.”</p><p>“That doesn’t seem very romantic.”</p><p>“It’s Las Vegas, we’ll be lucky if the officiant is wearing clothes.”</p><p>“Dakota!”</p><p>“What? It’s true.”</p><p>The Italian grinned, enjoying the teasing and the annoyed look on his partner’s face. Cavendish was utterly too cute for his own good. And well, there was no rack between them now…</p><p>Dakota had to step on his tiptoes to reach Cavendish’s mouth, but as soon as their lips touched, the taller man leaned forwards to make the kiss easier for both. The slender hands of the Brit traveled from the shoulder to the arms of his friend, while Dakota pulled him closer by the waist. He was in the clouds. Everything about Cavendish was perfect, the tingling of his moustache, the uncertain yet eager way he returned the gesture, the softness of his lips… the tender way he touched Dakota’s arms, then his back and his neck; so very delicately, like if Vinnie was a precious piece of art he wanted to explore. When Cavendish started petting his hair, Dakota couldn’t suppress a light moan.</p><p>He pulled Cavendish even closer, earning a surprised yelp, his hungry touch becoming more and more bold. Dakota’s hands darted under the shirt of his partner, and only the feeling of the pale soft skin of Cavendish’s back made him feel dizzy and delirious with desire. He wanted to eat this man whole, kiss him until nothing more mattered, make him notice just a portion of the absolute, overwhelming, devoted love Dakota had been feeling for years.</p><p>However...</p><p>“Wait, wait, this is not right…” the italian mumbled, pating. He stepped back.</p><p>“What? Why?” Cavendish got anxious. “Did I do something wrong?”</p><p>“No, no, no! It’s not that,” Dakota was fast to assure. But it was too late.</p><p>“I knew I would jumble everything up!” The older man almost sobbed, fingering hysterically. “I knew this was a bad idea, that I had to control my thoughts! I kept telling myself ‘Balthazar, no matter what feelings are you developing, Vinnie is far too good for you and will never be happy with a total failure as you’, but did I listen? No! I’m such a self-absorbed imbecile!”</p><p>“I knew this was futile, how could you ever even like me? You are kind, selfless, funny, loyal and honest; and I’m just-I’m just…”</p><p>“Cavendish,” Dakota interrupted, taking his hands. “Balthazar. Stop. You are the most dedicated, pure, righteous, caring guy in the universe, and even if you weren’t… you are YOU. And that’s always enough to me;” Dakota smiled. “But before going on, there’s something I have to tell ya, something important. Cav, I…”</p><p>That was the moment the alarm system got back online, making both men jump in pure panic when the loud sound and red lights activated all around the building. They only needed a few seconds to register the faint sound of the police car’s sirens approaching the area.</p><p>“Criminy, Dakota, they are here to stop us!” Cavendish panicked, though on his mind there was no reason why they needed to be stopped. They were only shopping!</p><p>“Not today! Get in the van, we are going to Las Vegas!” the Italian declared.</p><p>And that’s how the two men ended fleeing from the police in an old white van full of stolen musical equipment, fast food wraps and a box of fireworks; dressed like some old-school rock band and incredibly confused and alarmed at their own situation.</p><p>Neither of them regretted their actions.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Afterwards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was pretty stuck on this one, but I had a creative spike so I was able to finish it. I also corrected past chapters, including a mistake I made regarding the story. Also added a cover at the beginning!</p><p>I hope you enjoyed the story. This is the first multi-chapter fic I finish! Thank you so so much for keeping with me until the end and I love every single one of you. </p><p>Any feedback is welcomed!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dakota, you did it! You stopped the memory eraser!” Cavendish was as excited as a little kid, and Dakota couldn’t help but smile fondly.</p><p>It still didn’t prepare him for his usually stuffy friend to come forwards and hug him tightly, raising him in the air as he squealed. “Oh, we’re safe. We’re safe, safe, safe! Aha! Safe!”</p><p>It wasn’t as Dakota didn’t value being safe (or more accurately, that Cavendish was safe); but between his partner’s strong arms, hearing him giggle in joy as he praised Dakota’s action, the Italian was pretty sure whatever had happened during the day had been totally worth it.</p><p>Once their emotions calmed down a bit, though, Cavendish regained his personal space and looked at the flashy outfits they were both sporting, a raised eyebrow accompanying his words. “What on Earth did we do on that last blackout?”</p><p>The first thing they recalled was waking up in their van hearing the fading sound of police cars, surrounded by trash, instruments and a bizarre quantity of sound speakers. Cavendish had discovered that before losing their senses, he had the (admittedly very clever) idea of writing a message in the windshield with ketchup, warning them to not use the drive thru. That has allowed them to locate the memory eraser without being immediately affected by it.</p><p>However, the device was clearly broken and unstable, and was Dakota’s ability to improvise (filling the receptors with empty wraps and causing it to deactivate) what allowed them to finally claim safety. That had been what prompted Cavendish’s unusual affectionate hug.</p><p>But they couldn’t remember anything prior to that point.</p><p>Before neither of them had the time to formulate an hypothesis about how they ended up full in costume and their van filled with instruments; the Murphy’s family car drove next to them with the intention of ordering some food from the drive thru. Upon seeing the two men, it stopped.</p><p>“Hey, Cavendish! Dakota!” Milo greeted them from the front seat with his usual cheery smile and gleeful tone. “Thanks for the fireworks. The show wouldn’t have been the same without it.”</p><p>“Fireworks…?” Dakota asked out-loud, though he wasn’t expecting an answer.</p><p>The rest of the group (consisting of his mother Bridgette, Zack and Melissa, Amanda and a boy neither of them knew the name of) seemed to be happy and grateful for the deed, so even if he couldn’t remember what they did, Cavendish felt compelled to accept the little praise they would get for the day.</p><p>“Of course, Dakota, the fireworks,” he added with a knowing tone, folding his arms on his back. “We worked really hard on providing them indeed.”</p><p>Dakota raised an eyebrow looking at him, but said nothing.</p><p>“Yeah, you guys know how to do an entrance,” Zack smirked.</p><p>“By the way, what’s with the weird outfits?” Melissa chirped with a similar expression. As always, she was more blunt than her friends.</p><p>“Oh uh…” both men mumbles looking at their clothes again and trying to find a suitable excuse, if only for the sake of their decency (or at least, Cavendish’s decency).</p><p>“We are on an undercover mission,” Cavendish finally stated, trying to sound professional.</p><p>“Oh, yeah. Totally undercover. Doin’ real undercover… things;” Dakota added, not sounding nearly as convincing.</p><p>“That’s great!” Milo replied, not giving the weird explanation any second thoughts. “It’s a shame you missed the concert, I hope you can make it to the next one.”</p><p>“I'll send you a recording,” Amanda smiled. Dakota grinned happily, but Cavendish avoided her gaze. He would be damned to admit she scared him a little.</p><p>“Well, see you guys soon!” Milo waved goodbye as the car started moving again.</p><p>“If you come to the next one, be sure to have good insurance!” Bridgette cautioned in a pleasant tone, already driving away. She liked Cavendish and Dakota, they were odd in all the best ways and Milo almost considered them like family.</p><p>If you asked them what they thought about the teen, both would have to admit (more easily on Dakota’s part) that they considered Milo something akin to his adopted nephew.</p><p>“My head is spinning…” Dakota groaned once they were alone.</p><p>“I also feel quite dizzy. I can’t remember anything;” Cavendish frowned at the thought. He hated not knowing what was happening around him.</p><p>Dakota looked at their vehicle and then lowered his gaze to their clothes again. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think we could afford all what we have in the van and over ourselves.”</p><p>Cavendish gasped. “Don’t you suppose the police sirens we heard earlier…?”</p><p>“Yeah, we are really screwed.”</p><p>Anxiety quickly set into Cavendish, who started to pace relentlessly as he mumbled about breaking the law, his breath becoming heavy and agitated. Dakota sighed, already mentally preparing himself for the worst. His partner’s panic attacks were very hard to watch, Cavendish could cry endlessly for hours, was prone to hurting himself and his delusion grew to the point where sometimes he forgot his own identity. The only way to calm the Brit down was giving him Dennis to snuggle, shut the lights and sit close without direct contact, gently talking to him about anything but the source of his anxiety.</p><p>If left unchecked, well… a couple of Dakotas were on the Island for that reason.</p><p>However, before Cavendish could reach such a state, the P.I.G. communicator in his pocket started vibrating, signaling a call from his boss. Forgetting his worries for the moment, the taller man signaled Dakota to come closer to answer, who was grateful that seemed to distract his partner enough from his fear.</p><p>“Helloooo, boooooys~,” Bob Block appeared on the screen with his eternally pleasant (if quite eerie) smile. “A little birdie told me you have some problems with the justice there;” as friendly as the tone was, it sent chills down to both men’s spines.</p><p>“Sir, I assure you it’s not what it seems...” Cavendish hurried to clarify, nervously fidgeting.</p><p>“We got affected by a creepy alien thing;” Dakota added, quite nonchalant.</p><p>“Memory eraser;” His partner quickly corrected.</p><p>“That.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, P.I.G. would never let our best janitors have any problem with the law,” Bob replied, almost singing their allegedly title as favorites. The condescending way he talked to them made Cavendish bristle his moustache uncomfortably. “That would be… very inconvenient for the company.”</p><p>“Ya aren’t mad?” Dakota ventured. He knew he wasn’t, but well, he had suffered the rage of the other Mr. Block for years and old habits die hard.</p><p>“Did you find the alien device?” Their boss simply smiled, like he was asking a toddler if they have stored their toys.</p><p>“Yes sir,” Cavendish assured. “However, I’m afraid it’s broken.”</p><p>“Well, it won’t cause anyone more issues then. Dispose of it,” he dismissed. “And guys? Don’t worry about the police, I will personally talk with them. Toodles!”</p><p>And not waiting for an answer, the screen turned black.</p><p>The duo looked blankly at the screen for a few seconds. Their new boss could be very unnerving sometimes, despite not being a single reason they should distrust him. Cavendish still desired to obtain his approval as he was used to doing with any authority figure, but Dakota couldn’t shake the feeling there was something very suspicious about Bob Block.</p><p>“Do you think he’s gonna murder someone?” The Italian commented, half as a joke, half as a legitimate theory.</p><p>“Dakota!” Cavendish blurted, alarmed.</p><p>“What? Don’t tell me ya haven’t thought about it.”</p><p>“That’s not the point!”</p><p>Since he was the strongest of the two, Cavendish scooped the extraterrestrial machine from the floor and started walking towards their van, careful to keep the wraps in place. Dakota followed him, clicking his tongue loudly.</p><p>“My mouth tastes funny…” The Italian noticed.</p><p>“Maybe you have been eating bird seed again,” Cavendish scoffed.</p><p>“Nah man, is more like tea,” Dakota licked his lips. He usually didn’t like tea, but this one tasted good.</p><p>“Who knows, perhaps since you are already a buffoon, the device turned you into a gentleman;” Cavendish remarked, his witty intention getting lost as Dakota laughed with the comment.</p><p>The Brit wasn’t amused, his mouth also tasted strange, salty and musky. Good heavens, who knew what he ate!</p><p>“So now what?” The brunette sat in the co-pilot seat of the van, looking at the mess behind him. He really didn’t feel like driving.</p><p>Cavendish left the device secured in the back of the vehicle and went to sit at the wheel. “Now we investigate where these items come from and return them to their legitimate owners.”</p><p>“Aw man, seriously? That’s a lot of work and it’s super late! The sun is setting!”</p><p>“Whatever we realized during our blackout is still our responsibility,” the Brit stayed firmly. “We must do the right thing.”</p><p>“I’m too lazy for the right thing,” Dakota whined. He knew he was not going to accomplish anything, and really didn’t care to try. But he had a reputation!</p><p>The rest of the evening consisted of the two men trying to locate where the items belonged and returning them, accompanied by as many apologies as they were able to voice. It was a relief to discover almost everything had been taken from the same place, though it didn’t stop them from being yelled at by the angry owners of the stores.</p><p>Fortunately, Bob Block kept his word and P.I.G. dissuaded the police from pressing any charge, so the duo was able to walk free from the situation as long as they returned everything into place and paid the damages they had caused during the day.</p><p>Well, there went their savings to try to move out from their tiny office.</p><p>“It’s such a shame we have to return these,” Dakota took one of the guitars from the van as they moved everything back to the store. “I would love to have a new one.”</p><p>“But you don’t play the guitar…” Cavendish knitted an eyebrow.</p><p>“That YOU know,” the Italian replied with a grin. “You only have seen me playing a few, but I can play seven different instruments. Eight if ya count the harmonica!” To demonstrate, Dakota played a short tune on the guitar.</p><p>“And you never considered mentioning it?” Cavendish crossed his arms.</p><p>“You never asked.”</p><p>“How I was supposed to know!” The Brit exclaimed, getting annoyed. Dakota simply shrugged, playing some more notes. “And which are those other instruments you allegedly play?”</p><p>“One is actually the violin,” Dakota replied breezily.</p><p>“You are kidding,” Cavendish almost stated, convinced it had to be a joke.</p><p>“Aaaaah, wouldn’t you like to know?” Dakota beamed. Seeing his partner wasn’t laughing, he began to explain. “Because I mentioned I can. And then didn’t tell ya. You say ‘wouldn’t you like to know?’ when…”</p><p>“I get it!” Cavendish groaned, too exhausted to make more questions.</p><p>By the time they finished fixing their track, it was already dark outside. Dakota had been starving for a while, but Cavendish was adamant they had to make sure everything was set right before getting back (and he was for sure not going to admit he was more than hungry himself). The worst part is that a good portion of the money they had lost had been buying fast food, though both were certain they were not the ones that ate it.</p><p>Once they parked on their office building, both were completely exhausted and very much annoyed. Dakota was not feeling his best, the strange notion he was forgetting something important lingering on the back of his mind, but seeing Cavendish huff and pout always made him try his best to cheer him up. So instead of joining his partner on his complaints, the Italian tried to smile and think about the dinner.</p><p>They were ready to call it a day when a last glance at the back of the van alerted Dakota of something neither of them had properly noticed before.</p><p>A teddy bear?</p><p>“Hey Cav, look at this little fella,” Dakota took it and waved it. “We almost forgot him.”</p><p>“Oh, blimey…! Where does this one come from?” Cavendish sighed in frustration. He was so tired.</p><p>Dakota inspected the teddy bear looking for anything that could give his origin away, but found nothing. “No idea. Maybe we just found him.”</p><p>“We still have to return it.”</p><p>“How? We don’t know where he comes from. Relax, Cav, no one gonna miss a lil’ plushie. ‘Sides, isn’t he cute?” Dakota snuggled the teddy bear, a big smile on his lips. “Who is the cutest little guy? Who is it? Who ~?”</p><p>Cavendish rolled his eyes, but still had to admit Dakota had a point (and it had nothing to do with how adorable his partner looked at the moment, nothing at all). He decided to let this one pass and just go for some well-deserved rest.</p><p>“Alright, alright,” he relented, turning on his heels. “I think we deserve some takeout for dinner, shall we?”</p><p>“Oh man, seriously?” Dakota jumped out of the van with the teddy bear, excited with the offer. “Can we get Mexican tonight? Pretty pretty please!”</p><p>“No. It always makes you sick to eat <em>burritos</em> at night,” Cavendish pointed out. Seeing Dakota pout, he added “However, we can get them for lunch tomorrow. We have to make sure you don’t faint without your daily ten meals.”</p><p>“What can I say?” Dakota chuckled. “I need the sugar.”</p><p>Cavendish paused a moment before putting the key on their office’s lock. A snarky remark crossed his mind, but he bit his lips. “I won’t question it. Do you need a snack while we wait?”</p><p>“If someday I answer no to that, take good care of my clone;” Dakota snorted.</p><p>“Duly noted. What are you going to do with the teddy bear?”</p><p>“I’m gonna name him Adam!”</p>
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